SOUTHERN PINES — History has a way of repeating itself and, and did so once again in favor of the Lumberton boys basketball team in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state playoffs on Saturday at Pinecrest.

In nearly the same position as last year, the Pirates met up with the Patriots after taking two losses to the Sandhills Athletic Conference champions earlier in the season. Just like last season, Lumberton carried vengeance into the matchup in the playoffs, and came away with the win.

“We lost to them in the regular season and then in the conference championship. We knew we couldn’t lose to them a third time. It’s the playoffs and whoever wins gets into the final four. We knew what was on the line and we stepped up big,” senior Charlie Miller said after the 54-50 win over Pinecrest to advance to the 4A East Regional final for the second straight year.

“It was just toughness and grit. Start to finish, I felt like we didn’t give up. We got down, we didn’t show fatigue or any signs of giving up so we just kept fighting.”

Second-seeded Millbrook will host Lumberton on Tuesday.

No. 8 Lumberton (13-2) rallied in the fourth quarter in the tight contest where neither team took a lead of more than nine points, and also followed the lead of two sophomore guards who played in big spots with foul trouble affecting the backcourt.

“Two sophomores stepped up tonight, J.B. (Brockington) and Jacob Hammonds. And not just in points, but just handling the ball and not turning it over, especially with (Jadarion Chatman) out late in the game,” Lumberton coach Bryant Edwards said. “We made some shots and made some plays down the stretch.”

Fourth-seeded Pinecrest (14-2) took a five-point lead with seven minutes to go, and in a pivotal moment when a stop and score from the Patriots would have taken control of the game, Lumberton junior Angel Bowie put the team on his back.

Bowie, one of the most improved players on the Lumberton team this season, scored eight straight points and pulled down several offensive rebounds in a run that put Lumberton up 48-46 with 2:20 left.

“It really feels good. It’s just telling myself that I’m improving,” Bowie said. “We’re ring chasing this year. Again.”

Hammonds drained a trey from the left corner with 1:30 left in the game, and a Matt Locklear bucket in the paint with 16 seconds left sealed the win to avenge the pair of losses earlier this season.

“He’s the most confident young kid that I have ever coached,’ Edwards said of Hammonds. “He wants to be in those moments.”

Hammonds finished with 11 points and Bowie had 14 points, with 10 coming in the fourth quarter.

Miller finished with a team-high 18 points to rebound from poor shooting performances in the two meetings with Pinecrest earlier this season.

“If I were to hit shots, tonight was the best night to do it,” Miller said. “Against Pinecrest I didn’t shoot the ball well both times. I knew I had to make some shots and I did.”

Along with helping carry the offensive load, Miller also was tasked with guarding Pinecrest guard Bradlee Haskell. Edwards said that he noticed a correlation between the wins and losses for Lumberton against Pinecrest the last two seasons, and the play of Miller was a big variable.

“We’re (2-4) the last two years against Pinecrest and he’s only played decent in two games, and that was last Eastern finals and this semifinals,” Edwards said. “He needed this going forward and we’re going to need it big on Tuesday night.”

Miller scored 16 points in the matchup last year.

Haskell finished with 29 points as he and J.J. Goins (11 points) were the only two Patriots in double figures.

Lumberton came out of the game on fire with a 9-0 lead in the first two minutes after Miller and Jadarion Chatman each made 3-pointers. Pinecrest responded and the game was played within six points the rest of the way as Lumberton went up 20-14 early in the second quarter following a Miller 3-pointer and a Locklear three-point play.